Computerized editing of images is described in the following publication: Delean, Bruno, Method and System for Image Processing, PCT International Publication WO 94/22101, published Sep. 29, 1994.
The use of templates in graphics applications is well known although not specifically dealt with in the foregoing publication.
Templates were first created in graphics applications with the intention of giving guidance to a user who has not mastered the most arcane tools and features of a graphics software package, or who does not want to spend too much time creating graphics applications from scratch. In image editing applications, software designers have discovered that templates, if embedded in a format that allows for editing of rich effects, can be used to compensate for a user's inability to create compelling graphic designs. Instead of requiring that a user create everything from a clean slate, templates enable a user to choose from a collection of carefully designed examples one that pleases the user or suits the user's needs. The graphics application has features that enable the user to further customize the template.
The use of templates is common in most desktop publishing applications, such as ADOBE® PAGEMAKER®, QUARK XPRESS® and MICROSOFT OFFICE®. MICROSOFT WORD®, MICROSOFT EXCEL® and MICROSOFT POWERPOINT® all come with extensive collections of templates. Templates are less commonly used in raster image editing applications since, most of the time, these applications do not store edits, but rather, they store the resulting pixel based image.
In the professional market, LIVE PICTURE®, MACROMEDIA X-RES® and METACREATION EXPRESSION® are among the few applications to provide templates. Some of the consumer level image editing application store edits in a layered structure, or expression tree, and are able to offer templates, often called “projects,” to a user. This is the case for ADOBE® PHOTODELUXE®, LIVEPIX® and MICROSOFT PICTURE IT!®.
None of these applications, however, provides a way to process alternative designs at any point in the workflow. Specifically, in the prior art, templates are used in the following workflow:                Step 1: Choose a template.        Step 2: Select elements in the template to be edited.        Step 3: Edit the selected elements.        Step 4: Save or print.        
If, at some point in the process, a user wants to change the template, the user has to start back from Step 1, losing whatever edits were performed in Steps 2 and 3.